Each week, the Appellate Advocacy Blog Weekly Roundup presents a few tidbits of news and Twitter posts from the past week concerning appellate advocacy. As always, if you see something during the week that you think we should be sure to include, feel free to send Dan a quick email at DReal@Creighton.edu or a message on Twitter(@Daniel_L_Real).

Supreme Court Opinions and News:

The Court has already decided that some offenders are too young to execute. Will the Court now decide that some offenders are too old or too sick to execute? Last week, the Court decided to hear the case of an aging inmate with dementia who was sentenced to death for a crime he can no longer remember. Adam Liptak at The New York Times provides an overview of the case in this report.

In a recent opinion, the Court resolved a split in the circuits regarding the proper standard of review for reviewing whether a creditor involved a bankruptcy reorganization plan is an insider to the deal who should not vote on the plan. The Court held that the Ninth Circuit correctly applied the "clear legal error" standard of review to the issue. An analysis of the Court's opinion can be found HERE.

The Court has ruled that the federal government could intervene in a dispute between Texas and New Mexico over Rio Grande water rights. Click this link for the Court's opinion. Click HERE for an analysis of the case and opinion.

Federal Appellate Court Opinions and News:

The U.S. Judicial Panel on Multidistrict litigation said it randomly selected the U.S. Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals to hear the consolidated challenges to the Federal Communications Commission’s repeal of net neutrality rules. Reuters has this report.

State Court Opinions and News:

After ruling on a criminal appeal that lingered in the system for ten years, the Georgia Supreme Court instructed the Council of Superior Court Judges of Georgia to work with prosecutors, defense attorneys, court clerks and others to come up with a proposal to address the problem of extensive and unnecessary appeal delays. The Associated Press has this report.

Practice Tip:

"Lawyers should be mindful of the duty of confidentiality when they engage in public commentary, including blogging and other online postings, according to an ethics opinion from the ABA Standing Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility." The ABA Journal has this report. The opinion from the Committee on Ethics and Professional Responsibility can be found HERE.

Appellate Job Postings:

The Department of Justice has an opening for a Director of the Appellate Staff, Civil Division. The job announcement can be viewed HERE.